Hong Kong–Based AMTD Buys theArt Newspaper

Hong Kong–based financial services conglomerate AMTD Group has bought London and New York–based art publication theArt Newspaper. AMTD—which last yearpurchasedglobal fashion media group L’Officiel, and with it the iconic 102-year-old French fashion and lifestyle publication of the same name—plans to move the paper’s main office to Paris, as part of its plan to increase its presence in France. The deal,announcedthis past June, closed on October 20, and gives the corporation possession of a well-regarded international art publication with a network of more than fifty correspondents working in over thirty countries. Founded in 1990 by Italian publisher Umberto Allemandi, working off the model of his successful Italian art monthlyIl Giornale dell’Arte,theArt Newspaperpublishes a monthly print edition as well as daily digital stories including reviews, market coverage, and reportage placing art at the nexus of influences such as climate change, politics, and economics. The publication additionally produces a daily newsletter and a weekly podcast.RelatedHELEN FRANKENTHALER FOUNDATION SUED FOR “DESTROYING” PAINTER’S LEGACYBMA CREATES PAID INTERNSHIPS HONORING VALERIE MAYNARD Former UBS investment banker Calvin Choi, AMTD’s chairman and main shareholder, will chair theArt Newspaper, whose board will include Mark Lo, CEO and executive director of subsidiary AMTD Digital, a France-headquartered financial technology firm. Feridun Hamdullahpur, an independent director of AMTD, has been named as an independent board member of the publication.

TheArt Newspapersince 2014 had beenownedby Russian collector Inna Bazhenova. “The past 10 years have been an amazing and exciting time for me,” said Bazhenova in astatement. “I have enjoyed watching the business go from strength to strength. I am happy in the knowledge that, under Calvin Choi’s leadership, AMTD is committed to the continuity of theArt Newspaper’s current model, with the focus on growing the digital side and brand’s geographical presence.” Bazhenova, who plans to shift her attention to TAEX, a marketplace for digital art that is currently in the development stage, will remain as an adviser to the publication’s newly created board, “to ensure a smooth transition.” Alison Cole, who had served as the publication’s editor in chief for the past five and a half years,announced her departureearlier this month..